Of Sheriffs and Saviors
by Jay Sage
Summary: In the span of a few seconds, what had started as an admittedly crazy, but relatively straight forward assassination attempt turned into a fight to save Nevada from the tyranny of the Improbability Drive and its operator. A short take on what could have transpired in the moments before the Sheriff changed the world with the push of a button.


Hello there. Just a quick little note before I begin. This story, along with most of my stories, were posted first on deviantArt, so if you've seen them before, no, I'm not stealing them.

Secondly, and speaking of stealing, Madness Combat was created by Matt Jolly. I'm just playing in his sandbox.

Lastly, FFN doesn't seem to like the way I indent, so I had to make some adjustments to avoid the odd strings of trash data it wants to insert at the beginning of every new line.

That's it. Hope you enjoy! If you wouldn't mind dropping a review, it'd make my day. I've got tough skin; criticism and flames are just as welcome as praise. Both help me get better!

_,.-~ ~-.,_

His hand hovered over the red button. It was such a simple thing to do. His problems could end right here, right now, with one push. It was something he should have done ages ago.

But God only knew what the consequences might be.

The figure standing to his right did nothing to calm his nerves. Leering over him in that self-righteous way he did. He was his right hand man, his adviser, his savior… he could kill every man in the building, himself included, without breaking a sweat.

Of course, the man staring daggers at him through the security was currently doing that anyway.

Self-preservation instincts screaming in his head, he made his decision. He begun moving his finger the small space needed to depress the Improbability Drive's power switch, but just as he felt the cold metal graze his skin, he found himself frozen in place. Fear overtook him for a brief moment before he remembered that the ominous figure meant him no harm, at least for the moment. For the first time in days, he spoke, his voice smooth and proper, quite unlike the man held under his spell.

"Don't be a fool. We are not quite that desperate yet."

"This here's gone far enough! You might have your powers, but what happens when he corners me again? We both know Goddamn well he'll put me down!"

"You still underestimate me after the first time? You believe him to be stronger that I am? He is but a science project. I will take care of him."

"Anger coursed through him now, and any doubt in his mind that his choice to turn on the drive faded. "What I believe is that he had me dead to rights, and would've killed me if he didn't have to brag about it! Now see here Christoff, I'm in charge! He trusted me with the goddamned thing, and there ain't no point in having it if I don't use it! Now let me go so I can turn it on!"

"Know your place, boy. You have the drive, and I work for you, yes, but I am not here to play your underling. You are but the marionette of a man… no, a creature of greater power than even mine. But know that should I choose it, there is nothing he could do to prevent me from ending your pathetic existence." There was an edge in his voice now, and though it was just as gentle as before, there was a hint of a something more, and the Sheriff could just see the aura of his power surrounding the both of them. "There are things in this world beyond your understanding; secrets that should remain so for all eternity. I will release you, but know that what happens after you activate that drive could be the destruction of us all."

There was a moment of complete silence, and the Sheriff felt a weight leave him, and power over his limbs return. The two men regarded each other for a few seconds, which felt like hours, before the Sheriff found the courage that had left him, and spoke.

"I saw you put a bullet through a man's skull, and now I'm watching him kill every man in this building! How can you sit there and talk to me about not releasing unnatural shit when someone's out there bringing dead people back to life dead set on taking mine? I'm fighting fire with goddamn fire!" To punctuate his exclamation, he threw his fist onto the button, and saw a red light in the corner of the machine turn to green. He did his best to look the room's other occupant in the eyes, but between the sun glasses and the powerful aura being once again barely contained, he found that he couldn't, and instead turned back to the security monitor, only to see the world going to hell, without his hunter missing a beat.

"You've damned us all. Remember that, when the end comes."

"Just go make sure he actually dies this time."

In a dark room, miles away, a darker man leans back in his chair in satisfaction as the Sheriff's face is relocated to various places of the room, and his play thing drops dead from the sword in his torso. He turns to a different monitor to begin the slowly improving process of reviving him, all the while making new plans in his head. He could never have activated the drive without becoming utterly destroyed by it. It was a rather troublesome problem, but not one that one idiot with a fancy hat could not remedy for him. Now he just had to wait for Christoff to slip up, and he would have everything he needed to take complete control of the program, and to spread its influence outside of Nevada. It would take time, but he had plenty of that.

Everything was going according to plan.


End file.
